Dam Square

The 21-meter-high Christmas tree currently standing on Amsterdam's Dam Square will be donated to the animals of Artis Zoo after it is taken down on January 8th. The largest piece, 6 meters of trunk including branches, will go to the elephants as a toy, NU.nl reports.

The rest of the Nordmann fir will go to other animals in the zoo, including giraffes, kudus and camels. "For the animals such a tree is behavioral enrichment", a spokesperson for Artis said. "You keep the animals active and healthy by challenging them to show their natural behavior."

A tourist nearly lost a watch worth 150 thousand euros to muggers in Amsterdam on Sunday night. The police arrested two suspects and were able to recover the expensive watch, AT5 reports.

The tourist was in the vicinity of Dam square when he was mugged. The robbers took the watch and fled.

A motorcycle officer spotted one of the suspects shortly afterwards. The suspect resisted arrest and tried to throw the watch away. Fortunately for the victim, the officer saw it happen and the watch was retrieved. The second suspect was arrested after a short search.

The Amsterdam municipality and police are taking into account that there may be counter-actions to a noise protest during the National Commemoration of World War II victims on Dam Square on Friday. Both members of the Moluccan community and veterans are furious that action group Geen 4 mei voor mij is planning to disrupt the commemoration, according to the Telegraaf.

A man was seriously hurt when he fell from a second floor window of a building on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Monday afternoon. The police believe it was an accident, a spokesperson for the police said to NU.nl.

The incident happened around 3:15 p.m. on Monday. According to Amsterdam broadcaster AT5, the man involved is a tourist. He fell from the window of Shelter City Hostel on Barndsteeg, the broadcaster reports. The man was conscious after his fall.

A noise demonstration during the national commemoration of World War II victims in Amsterdam on May 4th is disrespectful and can be punishable, interim Amsterdam Mayor Jozias van Aartsen said on Wednesday morning. He warned action group Geen 4 mei voor mij not to go through with the demonstration, Het Parool reports.

Concrete barricades were placed around the popular Dam Square in Amsterdam late Wednesday night. Weighing up to 500 kilograms, the blocks are meant to stop vehicles from barrelling through the area, a spokesperson for the city told AT5.

The move is one of several visible and invisible counter-terrorism measures undertaken by the city, a spokesperson said. The square is home to one of the country's royal palaces.

The Red Cross in the Netherlands will soon be using virtual reality films in their first aid courses. The aid organization thinks that this will help students better envision an emergency situation so that they can learn how to deal with it, NU.nl reports.

The virtual reality films will first be used during an attempt to break the world record for the largest first aid course on Dam square in Amsterdam on September 9th. The current record stands at 1,795 participants. The Red Cross hopes to get up to 2,500 people.

Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan decided to separate any future demonstrations by pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups in the city. Demonstrations will still be allowed, but not at the same time, or separated at least 50 meters from each other, AT5 reports.

At 8:00 p.m. on Thursday the Netherlands commemorated the victims of World War II with two minutes of silence. Eleven people were arrested at or around the Remembrance Day commemoration ceremony on Dam Square in Amsterdam. According to the police, most committed minor offenses, AD reports.

NS is halting all trains at exactly 8:00 p.m. for the national two minutes of silence to commemorate the victims of World War II on Remembrance Day today. In a video posted online, the Dutch railway company explains how it will manage to stop 330 trains at exactly 8:00 p.m.

A commemoration for asylum seekers who died in the crossing to Europe arranged for Amsterdam on Thursday evening, at the same time as the national commemoration for WWII victims for Remembrance Day, has been canceled, the initiators announced in an open letter. "Because it was never our intention to commemorate refugees from angry words, we decided to stop our initiative", Matthijs Jaspers said, Het Parool reports.

King Willem-Alexander is continuing celebrating his 50th birthday with a special dinner at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam tonight. 150 Dutch whose birthdays are also on April 27th will be dining with the King and Queen, ANP reports.

Panicky moments at the fair on Amsterdam's Dam square on Tuesday - a loose safety strap on the Bungee catapult ride resulted in a woman dangling from the ride as it went up and down. An extra strap prevented her from falling. A video of the incident shows the woman dangling loose in her seat, screaming.

About 2 thousand people participated in a march against anti-LGBT violence through Amsterdam on Wednesday evening. The participants marched hand-in-hand from Dam Square to the Gay Monument at Westermarkt, ANP reports.

Visitors to a free Peep Show on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Tuesday got a rather different show than they expected. Instead of seeing a naked woman, they saw a young girl dressed in leopard print and huddled on a bed, arms folded. And a video in which former sex slaves tell their stories, Het Parool reports.

The third edition of the Amsterdam Tulp Festival was officially opened on Thursday. For this edition of the festival, which will run from April 1st to May 14th, a massive 500 thousand tulip bulbs were planted across the city. During the opening, the new Paleiskwartier association was introduced, with the group made up of organizations along the major Amsterdam streets of Damrak, Rokin, Kalverstraat and Nieuewndijk as well as Dam Square.

Amsterdam is expanding its ban against drinking alcohol on the streets of the city center. From Wednesday you are not allowed to drink alcohol around the Albert Heijn behind the Royal Palace and on the streets around the Leidseplein, Het Parool reports.

A total of 11,493 people want to have dinner with King Willem-Alexander to celebrate his and their birthdays. They registered to be one of 150 people, whose birthday is also on April 27th, to have dinner with the King at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, the Royal House announced on Friday.

King Willem-Alexander plans to celbrate his 50th birthday with 150 Dutch whose birthday is on the same day as his - April 27th. The King and 150 Dutch will celebrate their birthdays with a celebratory dinner in the Royal Palace on Dam square in Amsterdam on Friday, April 28th, AD reports.